Category - Whiplash

Whiplash is a collective term that is used to describe injuries to the cervical spine (neck). This condition often results from an automobile crash, which suddenly forces the neck and head to whip back and forth causing hyperflexion or hyperextension. Almost 3 million Americans are hurt and suffer from whiplash annually and most of those injuries come from auto accidents. But there are other ways to endure a whiplash injury and the symptoms may include neck pain, tenderness and stiffness, headache, dizziness, nausea, shoulder or arm pain, paresthesias (numbness/tingling), blurred vision, and in rare instances difficulty swallowing. Soon after it happens at the acute phase, the chiropractor will focus on reducing neck inflammation by utilizing various therapy modalities (eg, ultrasound). They might also use gentle stretching and manual therapy techniques (eg, muscle energy therapy, a type of stretching) to ease the neck. A chiropractor may also recommend their patients to apply an ice pack on their neck and/or light neck support to use for a short time period. As the neck gets less inflamed and the pain diminishes, many local chiropractors will execute spinal manipulation or other techniques to restore normal movement to the neck’s spinal joints.